Friday Alert
Friday, February 19, 2010(Alliance for Retired Americans)
President Establishes Debt
Commission to Look at Social Security and
Medicare
Yesterday, President
Barack Obama signed an
Executive Order establishing a commission to
tackle the federal debt. The commission's
purpose is to reduce the federal budget deficit
from 10% to 3% by 2015 and to propose ways to
contain costs related to Medicare, Medicaid and
Social Security. As co-chairs of the
commission, the president named former
Bill Clinton White House Chief
of Staff Erskine Bowles and
former Republican Senator Alan
Simpson. Bowles, president of
the University of North Carolina, worked to
pass the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 with
Republicans in Congress when he was White House
Chief of Staff. He ran unsuccessfully for
the U.S. Senate in 2002 and 2004. Simpson
served as a Wyoming senator from 1979 to 1997
and as Senate GOP Whip from 1985 to 1995.
Alliance Executive Director Edward F.
Coyle said yesterday, "Retirees fully
support President Obama on the critical need to
reduce our nation's budget deficit. Older
Americans have always been uncomfortable with
large debt, both in government and in their own
families. We are, however, wary of the
objectivity that Commission Co-Chair Alan K.
Simpson will bring to this important
assignment. As a Senator, Simpson
referred to older Americans as 'greedy geezers'
and launched bitter and protracted assaults
against advocacy groups for seniors.
Social Security benefits would have been cut
under his plan to change the statistical
formula used to calculate Cost-of-Living
Adjustments." Mr. Coyle continued, "We
believe that if the Commission takes a thorough
and honest look at Social Security and
Medicare, it will conclude that these vital
programs should be strengthened, not
weakened. Social Security and Medicare
are two of our nation's greatest success
stories, helping generations of seniors stay
healthy and out of poverty." For Coyle’s
full statement, go to http://bit.ly/cuCd7q.
Congressional Retirements
Abound
Indiana Sen. Evan
Bayh will not seek reelection this
year, he announced on Monday. He is the
fifth Democratic Senator not seeking
reelection, joining Sens. Chris
Dodd (Conn.), Byron
Dorgan (N.D.), Ted
Kaufman (Del.) and Roland
Burris (Ill.). Six Republicans
are retiring: Sens. Kit Bond
(Mo.), George Lemieux (Fla.),
Judd Gregg (N.H.),
George Voinovich (Ohio),
Sam Brownback (Kans.) and
Jim Bunning (Ky.). In
addition, four U.S. House members - Republican
Reps. Vern Ehlers (Mich.) and
Lincoln Diaz-Balart (Fla.),
and Democratic Reps. Diane
Watson (Calif.) and Patrick
Kennedy (R.I.) - announced their
retirements last week, bringing the total
number of House members not seeking re-election
in 2010 to 32. Of those, 18 are
Republicans, and 14 are Democrats. "The
stakes keep getting higher for this fall's
elections, so seniors need to be educated and
active," said Barbara J.
Easterling, President of the
Alliance.
Health Care Debate Wages
On
White House officials are
working with leaders in Congress on a health
care proposal that could pass without
Republican support if GOP representatives do
not embrace bipartisan compromises at President
Obama's summit next week. According to
the publication The Hill, the
Progressive Change Campaign Committee has
circulated a letter among House Democrats,
which 119 of them have signed, calling for the
reintroduction of the public option.
Thirteen Democratic senators have signed a
similar letter. The letter calls for the
Senate to pass a series of "fixes" to the
health care bill it passed in December under
the budget reconciliation process, a maneuver
that would avoid the 60-vote filibuster
threshold in the Senate. House Majority
Whip James Clyburn (D-SC) said
in an interview yesterday that a public
insurance option could be part of the final
health reform legislation [ http://bit.ly/bsmNHX ].
He said that while it was dropped to garner 60
votes in the Senate, a fifty-plus-one vote
could still carry the public option. It
remains to be seen whether the controversial
excise tax on high-end health plans will remain
in a final bill.
The Alliance has held more than 20 events across the country during this week's Congressional recess, reminding lawmakers in their home districts that health insurance reform is still a national priority. Events have included meetings with Members of Congress, protests, and rallies. More action is planned for next week.
Billy Tauzin Retires as Head of
Pharmaceutical Lobby
The president
of the Pharmaceutical Research and
Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), W.J.
"Billy" Tauzin, announced last Friday
that he will be retiring on June 30 as head of
the pharmaceutical industry's main lobbying
group. The 2003 Medicare drug law,
negotiated in part by then-Rep. Tauzin (R-LA)
before he became a lobbyist, has widely been
viewed as a financial windfall for the big drug
companies - larger than even the most
optimistic Wall Street analysts had
predicted. In response to Mr. Tauzin’s
resignation from PhRMA, Ruben
Burks, Secretary-Treasurer of the
Alliance, said, "After helping to negotiate the
2003 Medicare drug law, Billy Tauzin made
millions as one of the top lobbyists in
Washington, and the drug companies made record
profits off the same deal. For too long,
everyone else has been winning at the expense
of the nation's seniors."
Suggested Resolutions Currently
Being Accepted for Las Vegas
Convention
On April 5-8, 2010 in
Las Vegas, the Alliance will be holding its
annual convention. The conference, which
has the theme Building Retiree Power,
will offer educational and training
opportunities to improve both grassroots
activism techniques and leadership
skills. As part of the convention, any
delegate registered to attend may offer or
second a resolution for consideration.
The resolution must pertain to a statement of
the Alliance's position or policy on a specific
matter. To be considered, please send your
suggestions to 2010Resolutions@retiredamericans.org.
Proposed resolutions, and seconds, must be
received by the Alliance no later than March
15, 2010 in order for the Resolutions
Committee, designated by the Alliance
President, to review them. To register
for the convention, please go to http://bit.ly/1jIzz2.
Did You
Know...
Twenty-one percent of
Americans take three or more prescription
medications daily (ABC News and the
Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention.)